Moments of Impact
by Nasty Nikolo
Summary: Everything had been perfect for a moment, and then it wasn't. After a brutal car accident strips Zelena of her memories, she finds herself struggling to cling to what she knows. By the time she realizes her mistakes, it may already be far too late. Swanqueen friendship, WickedSwan and WickedIce past and present relations. GP w/Baby Rory
1. Chapter 1

Moments of Impact

Chapter One:

 **Thirteen Months Ago**

If she hadn't already been leaning up against the wall, she would have no doubt either ended up on the floor or something worse. All of the blood seemed to leave her body, her skin blanching of color as her brain sped up to process what she had just heard or better yet what she had just seen. The smile that Zelena wore caught her off guard, she had thought it was strictly reserved for her. In the two years she had known Zelena she had never seen her smile like that when referring to anyone else. Then again she hadn't known Zelena had been engaged.

" _She's my fiance." "My Fiance" "Fiance"_ She was her fucking fiance!

"Zelena.." Emma swallowed hesitantly as she shook her head clear of what just happened.

"Are you going to tell me who you are and what you're doing in my room?" Zelena raised an eyebrow.

"I'm-" Emma started and was once again cut off by Cora.

"Maybe now is not the time." Cora gritted out.

"Are you kidding me? She deserves to know that I am her wife!" Emma hissed watching a flurry of emotions wash across Zelena face before she crumpled. It had been a long day and she was equip to deal with all of the emotions regarding anything but what she already knew.

"Is this some sort of sick joke? Where's Elsa?" Zelena had never looked so panicked before to her, her heart was literally chipping away to small minuscule pieces the more this was unraveling.

"I'm afraid not dear." Cora responded grimly

"This has to be! In two months I'm supposed to marry the love of my life, where supposed to start a family! That person definitely isn't her!" Zelena argued, her heart monitor racing

.

"I think it's best if you leave." Cora glared at Emma.

"Zelena..." Emma tried to plead.

"Just go!" The redhead raged and it was then she caught sight of the ring on her left hand. It was a gorgeous princess cut diamond surrounded by other gems, it was on the small side and just from looking at it she knew it didn't come from Elsa. The ring she had got her was gaudy and it let people know that she was going to be the wife of a very important woman. She looked back up at the torn blonde who just shook her head preparing to leave the hospital room.

"Wait!" Zelena stopped her, watching the hopeful look cross the other woman's features.

"Take this with you." Zelena practically ripped the ring off her finger before tossing it to Emma. The blonde barely caught it before her face completely fell and the first of her tears came rushing down. The blonde locked her jaw before stalking out of the room. She had no idea why but she suddenly had the deepest urge to call the blonde back and to wipe the hurt look off her face. However her confusion out weighed everything else. She had never felt so lost before and so alone. The way her father looked at her with so much apprehension and how her mother looked so relieved set her off. Normally it was the other way around.

Now questions started filtering through her brain. How long had she been in the hospital? How long had she been where it is she's at because she could tell it certainly wasn't Storybrooke? How long had she been married to- she didn't even know her 'wife's name'. !

"When is Elsa coming?" Zelena's voice was scratchy from disuse.

"She should be here within the hour darling." Cora patted her hand.

"Should she even be coming? I mean if I supposedly married, wouldn't she have moved on also?" Regina asked.

"You should know by now that girl would drop the world for you and pick it back up if it could make you smile." Cora assured her.

"How long has it been? Since I've been asleep, since I last remember?" Zelena wondered out loud.

"If the last thing you remember is selecting a venue, then it has been six years that you've lost. Your doctor says you have been here for a month a half." Rupert answered.

"Do you guys know how long I've been married? I'm assuming you guys don't get along based off your reaction." Zelena was looking to her father for honesty, knowing that during the past half an hour Cora was willing to sugar coat and keep things from her.

"We didn't know you were married. We've never met the girl until we arrived earlier last night." Rupert answered, ignoring his ex-wife's heated glare.

"What? You mean to tell me I got married, and you've guys never met her?" Zelena scoffed.

"We haven't spoken in a very long time darling. When you left Storybrooke you cut all ties with everyone except for Walsh and Ruby." Rupert looked ashamed.

"What happened?" Zelena demanded an answer.

"Darling that is a story for another day, why don't you rest and we go find a doctor." Cora shut the conversation down, leaving the redhead in her thoughts. If six years had past she was no longer that twenty-three year old girl, instead a twenty-nine, maybe thirty depending on the month, year old woman. It's frightening to loose a huge chunk of your life. How many of those years had she spent with the woman she had just pushed away?

Emma had made it halfway down the hallway before she doubled over, sobbing into her knees. The ring she had gifted Zelena, cutting into the smooth flesh of her palm didn't stop her from clutching it harder. Her wife didn't remember her, she didn't want her around and more importantly the love she felt for her belonged to another now. Still it did nothing to stop Emma from wondering how her Zelena was feeling, because truth be told she didn't recognize that woman in that hospital bed. Yet she did. Zelena had been so guarded when she first stumbled into New York, and her and Emma didn't immediately hit it off.

They had been neighbors in the same apartment building, and they fought like cats and dogs for the first two months until Zelena offered to bring a sick Emma some soup. She had been kind and attentive, as soon as Emma had felt up to it she asked the woman on a date. They had dated for a year and been married for two, yet Emma had never heard much of her wife's background story. She had never met her parents, however she got on well with Walsh and Ruby.

"Emma!-" She heard Ruby's voice, but her eyes were burning trying to hold back her unshead tears. She could feel the older woman's arms wrapped around her rocking her, until all Emma could do was hiccup occasionally.

"What's happened? Walsh went to go check on Lena, I didn't expect you to be out here like this." Ruby placed a small kiss on Emma's forehead, encouraging the blonde to breath deeply.

"She's in there with her parents...Rubes she doesn't remember me." Emma's bottom lip trembled as she revealed that piece of information.

"Her parents?! What the hell are they doing here?" Ruby hissed.

"I think someone at the hospital might have called them." Emma shrugged.

"Did you say she doesn't remember you? She lost three years of her life, like that?" Ruby questioned

"Six, the last thing she remembers is being engaged to someone named Elsa. I didn't even know she had been engaged! Her mother was so smug, telling her that Elsa was on the way. How can I compete with that?" Emma sounded like a small child in need of reassurance.

"I- I thought she told you. That was a hard time in her life Emma, and Elsa isn't a good person. She had been physically and emotionally abusive in their relationship, and on top of that she cheated on her and got pregnant. They have a son named Rowen, and have been together since Zelena skipped town all those years ago. Her mother-...she knew about it all. She helped Elsa cover up her affair, and she gave Zelena makeup to cover up her bruises. She would have married the sick fuck but Hans showed up to the wedding and told everyone. Zelena left her standing at the alter." Ruby shook her head as she recounted the details.

"Why would her mother want her with someone like that?" Emma spat in disgust.

"Elsa comes from a very wealthy family, and so does Zelena. They both run in the same circle, that's just how things work, doll." Ruby rubbed her back.

"She doesn't even know." Emma shook her head in disbelief.

"She doesn't know what?" Kathryn frowned

"She doesn't know that I'm pregnant." Emma admitted.

"If I have it my way, she won't ever!" Cora spoke as she stalked down the hall with Rupert on her heels.

"Cora!" Ruby shot up with Emma quickly following her lead. She refused to allow this woman to look down on her for any longer.

"Ms. Lucas...Ms. Swan." Cora glared at them both.

"It's Mrs. Swan-Gold! If you think for a second that I'm going to allow you to ruin Zelena's life, you have another thing coming! How could you want your daughter with a girl like that?" Emma sneered at the unsuspecting woman who took several steps back.

"Not that you would understand but people of a higher standard have a reputation to uphold." Cora countered.

"Not that I would understand? Lady you come from a small little hick town and old money! It's probably not even your money but your husbands! My family owns half of time square, so I'd watch where your throwing your shade at next time!" Emma's eyes blazed at the small jab Cora tried to throw in. She watched Cora take in the information, and she could see her value in the woman's eyes grow when she stated her monetary value.

"Cora!" A smartly dress woman came rushing up to the group, and despite her suit costing money she could tell it was still under what the women in her family spent for hair gel.

"Elsa, I'm glad that you could make it!" Cora regarded her with cold appraising eyes.

"Of course! You know I'd do anything for her." Elsa's lips quirked slightly.

"You aren't going anywhere near her! So you can head on home to your family and stay the hell away from mine." Emma spoke steely as she regarded the female in front of her.

"And you are?" Elsa glared at her.

"Her wife." This time it was Rupert that spoke, as he stepped slightly in front of the blonde. They all watched Elsa's face blanch.

"Well why did you ask me to come here? You said she didn't remember anything but me! That she asked for me!" Elsa turned to Cora as he spoke.

"Dear, watch how you are speaking to me." Cora narrowed her eyes.

"You said-" Elsa ignored her and went to hiss out another response.

"I know what I said. The plan will still go on accordingly, I will be bringing my daughter back to her rightful home. Now sit down and shut up." Cora's tone was ice cold, and it took the platinum blonde by surprise.

"You can't just take her anywhere! She has a life and a family here!" Emma exclaimed.

"That ring in your hand tells me my daughter forfeited her life here. Her family is back at home, not in this city." Cora sniffed indifferently.

"Look Lady, we're having a kid. We built a life here-" Emma started her rant.

"That was until you tried to kill her! Why is it that both of you were in the car accident yet your fine, and my child is broken?" Cora's voice raised, she wasn't quite yelling but she was losing her patience rapidly.

"T-That wasn't my fault! She had taken off her seat belt right before we got t-boned by a drunk driver. She was tipsy and I was trying to focus on the road because it was covered in snow and no doubt black ice!" Emma defended, but her eyes burned fiercely with the accusation. The hospital hall went silent for a moment before Cora cleared her throat.

"I highly doubt my daughter wishes to remain in a civil union with you. I'll be having a lawyer contact you with the details regarding everything." Cora spoke stiffly.

"Civil Union? We're married! You can't force a divorce on her while shes vulnerable. She may not remember me today, or tomorrow but one day she will. You will be the one answering to that Ms. Mills." Emma scoffed.

"Well until that day comes, Zelena would like you to know, she doesn't want you here." Cora smirked, watching Emma's bottom lip quiver.

 **Present Day**

Her thighs were sticking to the buttery leather seats of her Jeep, but she chose not to move in fear of being spotted. Maybe that wasn't true though, maybe she was afraid of what comes after being spotted. The forest green Jeep Wrangler blended in perfectly in the quiet little neighborhood. She was pleasantly surprised at the nature of the location. The house was on the smaller side than she was used to, three bedrooms and two baths. But the wrap around porch and tire swing was certainly all Emma Swan.

The blonde in question was laying on her back on a soft blanket in the grass, with a small chubby babe in her arms. However it was the tuff of bright red tight ringlets that had Zelena Meriana Gold sitting in her truck. This would have been so much easier, if Zelena hadn't remembered. If her memories hadn't come back like being doused in a bucket of ice cold water once Elsa Midas uttered those words she had heard before.

" _I think I'm pregnant"_

The memories blurred a bit, mixing as one for several moments until she was able to violently separate them. The headache that staid for days after was a bitch to deal with. She had been happy before then. Felt like she was granted a second chance with her high school sweetheart. It was so easy to deny everything Emma had told her, so easy to push the younger woman into the back of her mind, until it wasn't...

She watched with a small smile as the baby wiggled her way down her moms chest before settling with a plop on her bottom. She let out a squeal, and Zelena couldn't tell if she had any teeth or not. Her thoughts were interrupted by a firm knock on her window, and she was startled to see Emma's father with a stern look on his face. Gulping she rolled down her window.

"Hello Mr. Swan, h-how are you?" She tried unsuccessfully to give the man a genuine smile.

"What the hell are you doing here, Carrot Top?" Flynn asked crossing his arms.

"I-uh...I..." Zelena stammered

"You what?! If you think I'm going to allow you to come into my town and break my daughter down to the shell of herself again, you have another thing coming to you!" He hissed, leaning forward.

"No sir! I-I came to speak with her..."Zelena tried to explain.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. From what I've gathered, you said all you needed to the last time. You know when you chose that Elsa girl." Flynn scoffed and Zelena swallowed harshly at the jab.

"T-That was before I remember." Zelena shook her head trying to blink away her tears.

"HA! As if that's an excuse! You were faced with all of the facts and evidence, and you still chose to turn your back on your pregnant wife. You are a piece of shit, no matter which way its cut. He stated harshly.

"Dad? Who are you talking to?" Emma had a bright smile on her face as she came closer with the babe in her arms.

"Nobody honey, stay over there!" He ordered, causing Emma to falter.

"Who is it?" She asked again, gripping her daughter tightly before furrowing her eyebrows trying to catch a peak of the driver. The sun was in her eyes, making it hard not to squint.

"You can't keep me from them!" Zelena bit out.

"No, you kept yourself away all on your own. She has been doing this day in and day out on her on, without you. Your services are no longer needed." He shot back. He could hear his daughter huff before she walked around the car and gasped.

"Z-Zelena..." The blonde looked at her blankly before shaking her head and walking away. Zelena quickly pushed open the door firmly, before slipping by the girl's father and rushing after her.

"Emma please!" Zelena called out.

"What do you want from me? Whatever it is, I have nothing left to give you. I gave all that I had." Emma's voice shook, and the babe whined out sensing her mothers plummeting mood.

"I remember! I remember everything!" Zelena exclaimed taking a step forward.

"Again, why are you here?" Emma asked, crinkling her nose.

"What do you mean why am I here? I'm here for you...I'm here for our family..." Zelena's eyes landed on her daughter in her mother's arms.

"We don't have a family, Zee. Your family is with Elsa, which is where you should be right now." Emma shook her head before looking away.

"Are you kidding me? I remember everything! Which means I remember everything she did to me, and how we ended things. I remember meeting you and never being so happy to have you in my life. I remember proposing to you...Emma I remember...Shouldn't that count for something?" Zelena asked in a hurt tone, as if she were the one being wronged.

"It should, but it doesn't. Not here at least. Maybe somewhere back in Boston, with your girlfriend. But not here." Emma responded, feeling her daughter chomping down on her breast through her shirt. It was almost time to feed and put her down for a nap.

"You can't say that, she's our daughter! We planned to have her!" Zelena refuted.

"She's MY daughter. And we didn't plan anything. My wife and I planned to have a child, but she passed away in that car accident!" Emma snapped.

"I didn't die! I'm right here!" Zelena took another step forward, snatching her arm back from Flynn when he stopped her.

"You're not her! You're the same Zelena who told me she would pay to have the procedure done because it was an inopportune time. The same one who had her mother try to write me a check to never try to contact you again. You pushed me away every chance you got, you denied my child from the time you woke up. The one who flashed her relationship with your ex in my face like I meant absolutely nothing...Memories or not, you are still that person. Don't come back here, Zelena." Emma huffed before rushing into the house.

"I think it's time you take your leave." Flynn jutted out his chin towards her Jeep.

"I'm not going to give up. I have rights, you know." Zelena responded stubbornly.

"No you don't. Not after abandoning your child for fourteen months. Then again the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, does it?" He smirked

"I'm nothing like my mother in that aspect!" She argued.

"Please, you don't even know your own child's name! Either you leave, or I call the authorities. And let's just say Emma's uncle is not your biggest fan either." Flynn informed her, watching Zelena take one last look at the house before stalking back to her car.

* * *

The smell of burnt candles greeted her when she walked back into her apartment in downtown Boston. She would have to meet her mother in several hours, but she was hoping to catch a shower and unwind first.

"What are you doing here?" Zelena huffed, throwing her keys onto the counter.

"I was waiting for you to come back..." Elsa looked at her with a red tear stained face.

"I told you I didn't want to see you anymore. You lied to me about every fucking thing. Everything out of your mouth was a lie." Zelena pursed her lips.

"I-I'm sorry...for the way things were the first time. For the way I treated you and how I acted. W-when I had the chance to make things right, I couldn't pass it up. Treating you like that was my biggest regret." Elsa licked her chapped lips, her cerulean eyes were bloodshot as she tried to explain herself.

"Did you even think about Emma in any of that? How you broke up her family?" Zelena quipped.

"Oh please! I didn't force you to be with me. I gave you a choice and YOU chose me. That was your decision! I didn't break up her family, you walked away! You were MINE first! Lena don't sit up here and act like I've done some great misdeed when you called all the shots. I have been nothing short of a great girlfriend to you this pass year!" Elsa snapped, rising from her spot on the couch slowly.

"You didn't have to make yourself available when you knew I was vulnerable and confused! You knew under any other circumstances short of me losing all my memories I wouldn't touch you again with a ten foot pole!" Zelena defended, yet she knew in her heart that the shorter woman was right.

"Well guess what? You did! You lost your memories and I was the one who helped put you back together again. Not that little bitch! That was your decision, stop trying to blame me for your choices!" Elsa spat.

"I told you I wanted you gone, now leave." Zelena sighed, shaking her head.

"NO! You don't get to walk away from me or our child!" Elsa pressed her hand to her belly, watching Zelena's head snap up.

"O-our child?" Zelena's heart pounded.

AN: Found this sitting on my Documents with three days left before it was going to be deleted, so I decided to post it.


	2. Chapter 2

Moments of Impact

Chapter Two:

 _Previously on Moments of Impact_

" _I told you I wanted you gone, now leave." Zelena sighed, shaking her head._

" _NO! You don't get to walk away from me or our child!" Elsa pressed her hand to her belly, watching Zelena's head snap up._

" _O-our child?" Zelena's heart pounded._

"Yes! Our child! I'm not doing this on my own Zelena!" Elsa stated firmly.

"Look, I'll be there for the kid every step of the way, but I'm not going to be with you. That's something you need to get through that pretty little skull of yours." Zelena pulled her bright red hair back into a bun before shoving her hands into her cargo shorts.

"No...That's not how we're doing this. Fuck that co-parenting bullshit! I have more than made up for what I did in the past!" Elsa sobbed, her emotions going haywire.

"Really? I don't think that you fucking my assistant in my bed, getting pregnant and trying to hide it is forgivable. Stepping out on me and having a kid? The way you humiliated me...no. Get your shit and get out." Zelena shook her head, not trying to let the argument escalate.

"I-I was young and dumb, Lena! I know I said nobody will ever accept you, but that was because I was angry! I do! I do accept you, all of you! If you'll just allow me to.." Elsa was getting hysterical as her hand reached out to grasp Zelena's belt buckle.

"Elsa stop." Zelena pushed away her hands but the blonde just latched back on.

"Lena please, I can make you feel good I promise!" Elsa pleaded.

"I SAID STOP!" Zelena shouted, and everything in the room froze for a moment, before Elsa backed up wide eyed.

"I don't understand...you loved me last week, I don't understand..." Elsa mumbled.

"The old me was in love with you Ellie, but that person no longer exists. I will always love you, but I'm not in love with you. You have to understand that." Zelena said softly, exhaling deeply.

"No I don't. I can't understand that. But you know what? That's just who you are! A coward, always running away when its time for you to step into your responsibilities. This isn't the first child you turned away from though, is it?" Elsa spat, becoming angry at how cold the red head was.

"Elsa stop..." Zelena warned, shaking her head.

"No! Your first bastard wasn't good enough so why would my child?" Elsa laughed humorlessly.

"Watch your mouth!" Zelena's nostrils flared at the insult to the red headed babe.

"You never had a mother, so you're afraid of being one? Your mother was so disgusted by who and what you were that she immediately gave you to your father!" Elsa started throwing out jabs in an effort to hurt the older woman.

"Shut up! This is why we could never work! The shit you say when you don't get what you want! You are a horrible horrible person!" Zelena thrust out her hands gesturing to the space in front of them.

"I told you I was going to be there for my child! I'm not abandoning my kid!" Zelena added when Elsa didn't say anything.

"My mother will not like this!Neither will yours!" Elsa stamped her foot.

"Yeah well, like you said. My mother gave me away. Yours can fuck off." Zelena shrugged.

"You are going to regret this Zelena...Emma won't take you back. And if you keep pushing me away over something that happened seven years ago, neither will I.

"Just go." Zelena huffed, hearing the blonde's heels clack on the tile before she took her leave.

"Well this shit storm just got worse." Zelena threw herself back onto the couch.

 **Lexington**

"Wait, so she just showed up here and what? Expected you to welcome her in open arms?" Regina asked, watching the blonde breastfeed her niece.

"I don't know what she expected, I don't know why she showed up. My mother keeps calling, but we got into it earlier and I'm done speaking with her. I might just change my number." Emma shook her head, while running her hands through the six month old's curls and loosening them.

"Why'd the Ice Queen call? I thought you guys weren't on speaking terms after you left Boston." Regina furrowed her eyebrows, and Emma wondered if the brunette knew how similar her and her sister were.

"We weren't" Emma rolled her eyes, before switching breast

"She hates the fact that she has a daughter who fell pregnant at twenty with nothing to show for it." Emma shrugged, her shoulders creasing with the weight she just put on them.

"Please, you are twenty and you own your own house. You own your own glass store and that coffee shop back in the city on 3rd street. You have plenty to show for it." Regina argued.

"All of that was paid for by money from the settlement. I would trade all of this, if that car accident had never happened. If we had never gotten hit by that drunk driver..." Emma trailed off.

"Of course you would, but you can't. And you've made the best that you could out of a horrible situation. That has to count for something. You are a wonderful mother, a veteran who was honorably discharge, you volunteer with the kids every week. Yes you are a single mother, but you are everything you do, you do for Rory." Regina reminded her. And as if on Que, Aurora 'Rory' Swan unlatched and let out a small burp, as Emma worked quickly to cover herself even though she has flashed Regina on numerous occasions.

"Let me see TT's baby!" Regina cooed, before grabbing the infant and setting her on her shoulder to burp.

"She's been cluster feeding all day, I think she might be going through a growth spurt." Emma acknowledged.

"Hmm, I wish I had been able to breastfeed Henry. Failure to thrive and the infection I got after, plus school. I wish I had just taken a step back and been able to bond with him like that." Regina hummed.

"Well hopefully with this one everything works out for it. It's hard as hell at first, I wanted to give up for the first two months but I'm glad I made it." Emma grinned at her daughter's lazy smile, as Regina laid her in her lap.

"Has Zelena mentioned anything about seeing her?" Regina asked

"I think so, I'm not entirely sure. She tried to tell me Rory was her daughter. Please, she can fuck off and so can your mother...and mine. The whole situation is screwed. I never pictured my life like this" Emma shook her head in disbelief.

"I still can't believe neither of her grandmothers have made the effort to see her. I mean, Mother is busy at the hospital but she still makes an effort to see Henry on the weekends." Regina murmured.

"I told your mother not to contact me, that the only way she would ever see Aurora would be on her death bed, and maybe not even there. She was the main one besides Zelena who tried to push for an abortion. She kept trying to pay me to kill my child! So no, Cora Mills is not my child's grandparent. As far as I'm concerned the only extended family she has is you, Daniel, Henry and my dad. " Emma shrugged, taking the babe back when she began to whine out.

"Yes, I still haven't forgiven Lena for that. How someone could ask the mother of their child to go through that procedure because it was an 'inopportune time' is beyond me. Especially since you both planned for months to have her before you got pregnant, and she had proof of that. So that cannot be blamed on lack of judgment from memory loss.

"I don't understand either, but I've spent enough time and tears dwelling on that. They can screw off. Zelena is not on the birth certificate, and I still have the texts from her and the emails from your mother in case they try something.

"This is like some very crazy soap opera." Regina chuckled.

BOSTON

Zelena grumbled, slipping into a pair of white cuffed skinny slacks and a black satin tank top. Next to go on was her jewelry. A thin diamond watch, followed by several gold bracelet and her pearl necklace. Grabbing her white Armani blazer and her cell phone, she headed out of the penthouse apartment. The drive to her biological mother's house was relatively short, only about a half and hour away from her own home and she groaned when she pulled into the driveway on the exclusive street.

She longed for the days she wasn't on speaking terms with Cora Mills, the woman who had dropped her off only weeks old on her fathers porch and left. The same woman who didn't show up until she was eleven, just reaching puberty with another daughter, a new husband and some fancy degree.

"Zelena, I'm so glad you could take time from your busy schedule to show up." Cora smiled tersely as Zelena rolled her eyes, and flicked her locks. Her long red wavy hair sat tame going down her back for once, the color the same as her mothers.

"Yes well, you said the matter was urgent." Zelena's eyes scanned the room quickly, noting the lack of Henry Mills Sr, and the others.

"Yes, why don't we go into the dining room. I have refreshments ready and we can sit and discuss the matter at hand." Cora led her oldest into the lavishly decorated room, and she watched as the red head pulled off her blazer before pulling out her chair and sliding in. Once pleasantries were exchange, the younger woman cut to the chase.

"Why'd you ask me to be here? I know it wasn't to play catch up." Zelena licked her pink lips after she took a sip of the Riesling her mother had served her.

"I was recently contacted by Elsa, regarding some very interesting matters." Cora cleared her throat, frowning when Zelena began to laugh.

"Is that what we are here to discuss? Elsa Midas? Well I never pegged her for a tattle tell." Zelena tried and failed to suppress a smirk.

"She informed me that she is carrying your child. You can't go around spreading your seed and expecting me to help you pick up your mess dear." Cora clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in disapproval.

"Clean up my mess? I never asked you to try and pay off Emma! You did that on your own." Zelena refuted

"Please! You came to me sobbing, saying you weren't ready for a child and you were conflicted. You told me that you wanted to be with Elsa but the child with Emma would probably ruin it. As your mother I did what I had to." Cora scoffed.

"You've always tried to pick and choose when you wanted to be a mother to me. I don't know why she contacted you, but I'm no longer with her because I remember all of the shit she put me through. Hell the argument we got into today only proved she is that same vindictive bitch. I told her I would be there for my child, but I am in no way shape or form ever getting back together with her." Zelena used the forty dollar place setting napkin to wipe her mouth, watching her mothers eye flinch, satisfied.

"Your sister also informed me that you visited Emma today." Cora stated.

"I did. And you can tell the twat waffle to mind her own damn business and stay out of mine. Regardless of what the almighty Regina thinks, I want to get to know my daughter." Zelena snapped out the last part.

"So she did have a girl? Were you able to see her?" Cora tried not to seem as interested as she was.

"Briefly,...she was beautiful." Zelena ran her finger along the rim of the glass, but stopped when Cora snorted.

"Did you ever doubt she would be?" Cora raised an eyebrow.

"No but seeing her for the first time, ...she took my breath away. I can only hope to atone for my mistakes." The younger woman murmured.

"So you are willing to throw away everything you have built with Elsa, for that little city girl?" Cora pursed her lips.

"She isn't some little city girl! I fucking loved her- love her. And I let her go because of my own insecurities and my fear of disappointing you. When I shouldn't have given a damn about what you thought." Zelena spat.

"Dear, do calm down." Cora furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why don't you stop disrespecting her? No, you know what? Do what you want to do, I'll see you at your funeral mother, because I'm done!" Zelena sneered, watching her mothers eyes widen before she stalked out of the house.

"Zelena wait! Don't you think you are acting very rash?" Cora quickly followed after her oldest.

"No I'm not, I should have never let you back into my life after you abandoned me for eleven years. My father raised me, while you went off and found a new family and a way to try to fix me. I'm not broken mother, I'm not damaged, and I'm not the family freak you only see when you feel obligated. I was born with a dick, and instead of you being there for me as a mother, you left me!" Zelena's face was red, but her tone was leveled. When Cora stammered for a response and came up blank, Zelena rushed down to her Jeep before pulling off.

Two Days Later

"This has to be considered some form of harassment." Emma hissed, using a cashmere blanket to hid her daughter from Zelena's prying eyes. The baby was strapped to Emma's chest in her Ergo baby carrier, as the blonde swept her front porch.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past three days Emma. You can't keep ignoring me." Zelena spoke from the pathway. She was dressed causal again, in another pair of khaki cargo shorts and a slightly looser 'Gold's Pawnshop' t-shirt.

"Really? Because you were content with ignoring us for almost fourteen months. Why are you doing this? Haven't you put us through enough?" Emma exclaimed, sweeping the dirty off the side of the porch harshly.

"I want to make amends. Nothing I did to either of you will ever be justified or okay, I'm trying to make things right. I want to see my child grow up." Zelena replied, stuffing her hands into her pocket nervously.

"Why the sudden change of heart? You were just raising your stepson with no problem. Why are you so concerned with my child now? She's perfectly fine, and healthy. So whatever guilt you have on your conscious you can go pay a shrink to help you work out." Emma sucked her teeth.

"I'm allowed to grow and mature and see the error of what I have been doing. Why won't you give me a chance?" Zelena furrowed her eyebrows before grinding her teeth.

"Because if I let you in, and try to be there for her what's stopping you from picking up and leaving again. A child needs consistency and stability, that's something you should understand very well. Your own mother was in and out of your life, and you turned around and abandoned my baby like she was nothing. Not a call, nor a text for fourteen months. You've never even show a slight bit of interest in her until a couple of days ago. And now you expect me to trust you with something as precious as my child...That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works." Emma shook her head, chuckling at Zelena's audacity.

"You once told my mother that she would have to answer to her decisions about what happened. You're going to have to do the same with her, when shes old enough to ask why every other child has two parents. You're going to have to tell her that you turned me away when I made the effort." Zelena ran her tongue along the front of her teeth, watching as angry flash across the blondes face. Even after all this time she could still read her like a book.

"Don't you dare! You aren't making an effort to do anything. You've just been showing up here like some stalker. You haven't even asked about her." Emma refuted.

Tired of having her face covered by the warm blanket, Rory snatched it off with a squeal. She protested when Emma tried to place it back on, causing her mother to toss it on the porch swing. The babe flailed her chubby little legs, letting out a stream of babbles and giggles. Her head was a bit sweaty, and her skin had little patches of red all over them.

"Is she okay?" Zelena worried her bottom lip.

"She's fine, just a little hot. She burns easy in the sun though." Emma explained, taking the baby sunscreen off the swing before she began applying it liberally to the infants skin.

"C-Can I ask what her name is?" Zelena wanted to reach out and touch the small tuff of hair on the babys head. It was straight on the sides and the back, with just a whisper of a curl towards the ends but tight ringlets on the top. The baby was extremely pale, with the brightest green eyes that Zelena had ever seen, and rosy cheeks. Emma snorted, and for a moment Zelena thought her answer was going to be a 'hell no'.

"Aurora Eira Swan. We just call her Rory." Emma replied, smiling when Rory leaned up to give her a slobbery kiss.

"She's beautiful." Zelena remarked

"I know." Emma chuckled smugly.

"C-Can I...Can I hold her?" The red head tried to keep her voice steady, and her heart plummeted when Emma immediately frowned.

"I don't think that's a good idea. She doesn't like strangers." Emma shook her head.

"I don't want to be a stranger to my own kid, Ems." Zelena replied sadly

"Well at this moment in time you are. She doesn't know you. That is a consequence of your own actions. Even if you no longer wanted me, I thought..." Emma blinked for a long moment before looking back up at her ex-wife.

"I thought you would at least always want her." Her eyes were glassy as she finished the sentence.

"I was an idiot, I'm so so sorry...Emma when we first met, you knew I wasn't a very good person. I was a person who played with numbers not a person who took chances easily. I didn't know how to love very well until I found you. You brought out the best in me over time...when I lost my memories, that good person that you helped me to be was suppressed. I immediately went back to the person I was when I was in a toxic relationship with Elsa. I turned into a nasty person, me losing my memories doesn't excuse that." Zelena started

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm going to do everything in my power to be a person that you both deserve to have in your lives. I'm not going to give up, and I'm done running away. I want my daughter to be able to look at me and know that yes I made some mistake, but I love her with everything in me." Zelena paused to watch the words sink in for Emma, before she turned on her heel.

"I'll be back, same time tomorrow." She threw a small smile over her shoulder before climbing into her Jeep

AN: I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with the endgame but it will be WickedSwan. Sorry for the confusion.


	3. Chapter 3

**Moments of Impact**

 **Chapter Three:**

The scent of baby shampoo cut through the bathroom as Aurora splashed around from her mothers lap. The blonde had been co bathing her child almost immediately since her umbilical cord fell off and she was given the okay from her pediatrician. The babes curls fell flat onto her hair, soaked with tear free soap and bath water as she gurgled happily and slammed her hands down onto the waters surface. Emma held her hands out in case her daughter slipped or fell forward, but for the most part she was letting her explore her freedom. That was one of the hardest things she learned about being a mother. The urge to wrap your child in bubble wrap and protect them with the fierceness of a lion was strong and difficult to fight, yet she didn't want to stifle her growth. It was a hard medium to find.

"MaMaMama." Rory looked over her shoulder and held up her suds filled palm in awe.

"Yes baby, I see the bubbles. Can you say bubbles?" Emma grinned watching her daughter give her a gummy smile before turning back to the water.

"Okay, we still can't say bubbles. Don't worry, we'll work on that. You'll be the smartest six month old to crawl into Gymboree." Emma joked to herself.

It was only four thirty in the afternoon, but Emma's mind raced with the implications of Zelena's farewell from yesterday.

" _I'll be back, same time tomorrow."_

Well here it is 'tomorrow' and according to Zelena she should be here within the hour. The twenty year old sighed heavily, she didn't want to see, think or hear from her child's other biological mother but even deep down she knew it was because she still had her own feelings involved.

She wants to give her child the world, and the stability of two loving parents but how on earth was she supposed to trust someone who wanted nothing to do with her child. Someone who asked her to kill her child before she even was able to have the chance to take her first breath. The topic of abortion was what Emma hated Zelena the most for. She remembers when the redhead had first brought it up.

 _Flashback:_

 _Emma was sitting on the sofa in the apartment that she and Zelena had been living in for the past two years, just staring blankly at the walls. Zelena had been discharged from the hospital six weeks prior, and Emma had informed her of the impending birth of their child, and the older woman had not taken it well. She hadn't seen nor heard from Zelena since she ran off from the restaurant, but from what she heard she was already planning to move back to Storybrooke and away from Boston. Emma had been footing the bills for the past four and a half months since everything occurred, but the past due bills started to stack on her coffee table. Right next to an overdue light bill sat the dissolution papers that Cora Mills had personally dropped off the day before. She had yet to open and fully read the details, still in shock at the turn of events. The doorbell ringing startled her out of her musing, and she rose to answer it._

 _"Z-Zelena...what are you doing here?" Emma pulled down the sleeves on her cardigan and pulled the garment closed around her protruding belly as if she could somehow hide her condition._

 _"Ms. Swan, I came to speak with you personally on an urgent matter. May I come in?" Zelena asked politely, taking note of the blondes rid rimmed eyes and rosy cheeks. Her heart thudded in her chest, but she pushed forward._

 _"Technically it's your home to . It's not as if I could say no." Emma replied leaving the door open as she turned to walk back into the apartment, knowing Zelena would follow her._

 _"That's actually a part of the reason I contacted you today. We have several things we need to discuss, hopefully we may find a conclusion by the end of the day." Zelena responded, sitting gingerly in a white upholstered chair, watching Emma crinkle her nose before looking away._

 _"You came to talk about the dissolution papers that your mother dropped off yesterday." Emma deadpanned, looking into unfamiliar blue eyes before shaking her head._

 _"Yes actually. I know this may not be the most comfortable conversation you will ever have, but its one that needs to happen anyways. I'm sure being with me afforded you a certain...lifestyle-" Zelena glanced down at the bills before she was being cut off._

 _"Please, we did everything 50/50 since day one. Don't make it seem like I was somehow upgraded by marrying you." Emma shot back defensively._

 _"Be that as it may, I am willing to pay spousal support for the next five years. A modest but reasonable $4,500 a month. This will be easier when going to court, it will push the proceedings along much quicker." Zelena tried to swallow around the lump in her throat but couldn't._

 _"I don't want nor need your money! Is that how its going to be with our kid? You flash some cash and everything is smooth as gravy?" Emma hissed out._

 _"Which brings up the main reason why I have come here today. I talked to a consultant, one of the best in the business and she informed me that the procedure is actually safe when done correctly. The recovery time is minimal and I am willing to foot the complete cost of the bills while you are out and for the procedure itself." Zelena rambled._

 _"What procedure?" Emma huffed, looking at her wife but not actually seeing the woman she married._

 _"Vacuum Aspiration. You are coming up close to your thirteenth week according to my math. I have to procedure set for tomorrow at 12, because well there is no time like the present, right?" Zelena licked her lips as she watched several emotions flash across Emma's face before they settled on anger._

 _"A-abortion? You want me to murder our child?" Emma asked in a low voice, not bothering to correct Zelena's math about her being three months pregnant and not almost five._

 _"Murder isn't the word I would use. The fetus has yet to take a breath, meaning it's not alive yet. Thus it's not a child." Zelena answered._

 _"Why?" Emma asked blankly, her hands resting protectively over her belly._

 _"The timing is inopportune, and it would be in everyone's best interest if we don't make this more than it needs to be. It will be a much cleaner break this way, without something or someone tethering ourselves together." Zelena tried not to wince at her half ass explanation._

 _"By best for everyone, you mean best for you and Elsa?" Emma narrowed her eyes, her voice rising a few octaves._

 _"Ms. Swan, it would be in your best interest also. Can you honestly say you can handle bringing a child into this world right now, and properly raise it? Especially with the obvious financial troubles you have found yourself in." Zelena sighed._

 _"Get the fuck out, now." Emma spoke steely._

 _"Pardon me?" Zelena frowned._

 _"I said, get the fuck out! You want to know why these bills stacked up? Because I had to pay your hospital bills! I missed work for a month and half while you were in the hospital because I couldn't bare the thought of leaving your side! Only for you to turn around a kick me like I'm a piece of shit stuck to your shoes! Just get out!" Emma screamed, finally losing her lid since the start of everything._

 _"I never asked you to do any of that." Zelena refuted._

 _"You didn't have to ask, you were **my wife!** Emma spat._

 _"You want your dissolution papers signed? Fine by me. However I am NOT murdering my child simply because you think the time is inconvenient! I was willing to fight the world for you, after all of the proof you have seen, you are still taking the word of your mother whom you haven't seen nor spoken to in over three years? You're going to go back to a bitch who physically and emotionally abused you? FINE!" Emma snatched the papers up before going to sign them._

 _"Emma-" For the first time in a long time, she actually called her by name._

 _"No, if it was one thing I learned from the temporary people that come and go from my life, is that you can't keep someone who doesn't want to be kept. I would have fought for you, for us. But I'm tired of fighting **you.** I'm done, you win. You, your mother, Elsa- you twisted fuckers all deserve each other." Emma sneered before throwing the papers and the pen into Zelena's lap._

 _"Don't come back here, don't seek me out. When this all comes back to bite you in the ass, just know you did all of this on your own." Emma held open the door for Zelena to leave._

 _End of flashback._

"Come on baby girl, you're getting all raisin-y." Emma stood up with Aurora sitting on her hip before grabbing a fluffy bath sheet to cover them both.

"Ugnh!" Rory grunted, hating the feeling of being covered by anything.

"It's just for a minute, kid." Emma chuckled, quickly setting about putting a cloth diaper onto the baby before setting her in the play pen so that she could get dressed.

She slipped on a pair of neon yellow 5 inch compression shorts, a purple sports bra and a white mesh tank top jersey. It was her normal lounge clothes, and she felt little to no need to dress any different around Zelena. If she actually showed, Emma had little no faith of her following through with her word. She dressed Aurora in a sage green romper that made her eyes pop, and a pair of gray baby moccasins.

"You are so beautiful! And Mama loves her baby!" Emma cooed, peppering Rory's face with kisses and having the baby leave wet open mouth kisses in return. The doorbell interupted them both, and Rory whined when the kisses stopped.

"Choo Choo." Emma grinned, kissing her on the way to the door. She looked through the peephole for safety purposes, before grumbling about Zelena being on the other side. Opening the door, she couldn't keep the disdain out of her voice.

"You came back." Emma stated.

"Yeah, I said I was going to." Zelena shifted from foot to foot, in a pair of white cargo shorts and a grey and black softball t-shirt.

"I guess you will have to excuse me for taking anything you say with a grain of salt." Emma shrugged before walking away from the door leaving it open for Zelena to follow her in.

"I suppose I deserve that." Zelena bit down on her bottom lip, watching Emma fix her mouth to say something else before she stopped herself.

"Why are you here, Zelena? Truly, why are you here? You put us through so much, and even then I gave you everything you asked for. You wanted a divorce, I didn't contest it. I let you keep all of your money. You told me not to contact you, especially not about the baby because if I wanted to be stubborn and do this all alone that was on me. I swallowed that pill. Every day for almost six months I dealt with the fact that my child's other donor wanted nothing to do with her but was content raising a child that her ex had outside of their relationship. Now you come back and you expect me to welcome you with open arms?" Emma licked her lips as she waited for Zelena to reply.

"E-Emma, I don't know what to say. Sorry won't change anything, but I am truly sorry for everything I put you through. I'm sorry..." Zelena spoke earnestly and sincerely. Emma knew she was being sincere, in fact it was almost tangable, yet she felt nothing.

"You know, after all this time I thought an apology would actually move me. That I would get a great sense of relief and a weight would be lifted off my shoulders. But that didn't happen. I don't feel anything, because sorry doesn't fix anything. You know my father made me do something as a kid, and maybe if you had more attentive parents you would understand that actions have consquenes. " Emma started, watching Zelena's nose flare at the jab but she said nothing. Rory was tugging on her shirt, and she internally groaned when she realized her daughter wanted to be fed and now. Sitting down on the couch she pushed her bra above her left breast before lifting her shirt so Rory could latch on. She looked up at a flushed Zelena who watched on in awe.

"Whenever I made a mistake, or I did something that hurt or negatively effected someone, he would give me a hammer and a nail and make me nail it into the fence. As you can imagine, by the end of the summer there were a lot of nails. A grand total of 54. On the last day of summer, he wanted me to take them all out, and when I was finished he pulled me aside." Emma paused for a moment to make sure she had Zelena's attention.

"Why would he make you put them in just to take them out?" Zelena furrowed her eyebrows.

"He told me to look at the fence. And see that it will never be the same. When you do something to hurt someone it leaves a scar. You could shoot somebody and no matter how many times you say sorry the wound is still there." Emma looked her in the eye as she spoke, watching Zelena struggle to take in a shaky breath.

"Yes the wound is still there. I know nothing will ever be the same but I'm trying to repair it now. I want to know my daughter and I want to atone for my mistakes." Zelena replied.

"She is only your child by blood, she is my daughter and I have to do what's best for her. And Zelena you aren't what's best for her. You are living proof that a half ass parenting isn't better than an absent one. If you aren't up to doing the job, don't try to come into a child's life and leave them broken." Emma shook her head before switching breasts.

"How would you know?! You won't even give me a chance!" Zelena shouted, watching Emma and the baby jump in shock before Rory started crying. Zelena immediately looked apologetic.

"Emma I-I'm sorry." Zelena rubbed the back of her neck.

"The fence Zelena." Emma shook her head as the door knob jiggled. Regina walked into the house with a grin until she caught sight of her sister.

"Hey TT's baby!" She cooed, eyeing Zelena for a moment before she took the baby from Emma. Rory whined, still wanting to be held by her mother but contested when Regina blue a raspberry under her chubby chin.

"Zelena. What are you doing here?" Regina asked her sister.

"I came to see my child, not that it's any of your business. Why are you planning to run and tell mother again?" Zelena quipped.

"Your child." Regina snorted before continuing. "Mother called me and asked had you made your way over here. With Emma's permission I informed her you did." She shrugged.

"Stay out of my business!" Zelena hissed.

"Could you both not, in the presence of my infant?" Emma grumbled.

"I would like to hold her." Zelena stated firmly.

"Zelena I already told you-" Emma was cut off by her ex.

"It would only be for several moments. If she doesn't like me, I'll hand her back. I promise!" Zelena pleaded.

"You are setting yourself up. Rory is very particular about who is allowed to hold her." Regina chuckled.

"Give her the baby, Gina. When she throws a fit, and you see that she doesn't like strangers the only person you can be upset with is yourself." Emma waved her hand dismissively. Regina shrugged again, passing Rory over. The babe looked at the new person holding her, letting out a small whine trying to go back to her aunt.

"Hello sweetling." Zelena cooed softly, bouncing the baby in her arms. For a few moments she felt smug, until Rory went red in the face and her bottom lip started to quiver. Big fat tears welled up in her eyes before she opened her mouth and let out an ear shattering screech. When she began to bawl, Regina quickly stepped forward to retrieve her while Zelena rubbed her sweaty palms onto her shorts.

"She'll get used to me." Zelena murmured.

"You'd have to be around for her to get used to." Regina muttered under her breath but her older sister heard.

"Despite what you may think, little miss perfect, I do plan on being here for my child!" Zelena snapped, she could handle the comments coming from Emma but Regina was another story.

"So you say, now. You didn't want to be apart of any of this for the past fourteen months, who's to say you won't change your mind again?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"I won't!" Zelena refuted.

"So you say. You wouldn't know this because you have never gone through pregnancy or births of either of your ex's. In fact you left both of them when the pregnancy was announced. Granted it was justified with Elsa, it doesn't change the facts. As a mother, someone who has held a child in their womb for nine months-" Regina was interupted by Emma.

"Seven and a half." The blonde pipped up.

"Not helping." Regina cut her a halfhearted glare before continuing with her 'lecture'.

"Or even another parent who was their to witness the birth of their child and see them brought into this world. In that moment you want to protect them from any and everything. So please understand us when we say your word alone is not enough." Regina finished.

"I'm here right now! And I'm not even being given a chance! This is all actions, no words! And what do you even mean by 'we' and 'us'?" Zelena gritted her teeth.

"She means that, she is Aurora's god mother, and she has been here for me since I showed up in this town five months pregnant. She sought me out when you abandoned us and she made sure I knew I didn't have to go through this alone. By us and we, she means she has been here every single day to see Aurora, and make sure that she is good." Emma answered for Regina.

"I just want a chance...you won't even give me that Ems." Zelena looked crestfallen causing Emma to sigh.

"You have to take baby steps, Zelena." Emma groaned out loud before continuing.

"You get an hour a day. 5:30 pm, don't show up late, don't show up early. Call before hand in the morning if you can't make it. You can start holding Rory when she's comfortable with you. That's all I can give right now. You get three strike and your out Zelena. I know things happen but for your sake you need to be damn near perfect for her! This is a probation period, in two months we will revisit the terms. If you haven't performed up to par as a parent in those two months, I can and will file for sole custody." Emma warned, watching Regina give her a peculiar look.

"I won't mess this up, I promise!" Zelena vowed.

"I hope for Rory you actually live up to your word." Emma furrowed her eyebrows, her stomach turning.

 **AN: For the Guest reviewer, would you guys mind typing in like a nickname or name or even random letters like (fbfbhbhasbdh) so that way I can properly address and answer your questions? Lol some of them are really good!**

 **Neal is not in this story, the way I have it written out ( in my head of course) is that Zelena is the child of Rupert Gold and Cora Mills. So she's Gold's only child. I believe it was stated earlier in chapter 2 that Rupert raised Zelena for the first 11 years on his own. The rest of the twisted family tree will be explained later. It was asked if Elsa and Emma are sister, no they are not. Sorry for that confusion they just have very similar mothers.**

 **This is a non magic fic, simply because I have never been comfortable enough to write any that turn out well. Lol.**


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